Looking out at a sea of purple in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Maria took the stage to deliver a poem that haunted her for days before it flowed onto paper.

Little by little she told her story of domestic abuse through poetic verse -- a story about how she was taught to be worthless but learned to stand on her own two feet.

“I learned to respect myself as a woman,” she said with tears in her eyes.

Safe Place of the Permian Basin held a domestic violence workshop with the theme, “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes,” on Wednesday. It included songs, skits, table talks and information sessions to give victims a voice and herald a serious community concern.

“Maybe we’re doing it one family at a time or one individual at a time, but we’re making a difference,” said Executive Director Carole Wayland, calling on the core values of hope, integrity, respect, empowerment and safety to help victims regain their personal power.

Serving 15 West Texas counties, the nonprofit has provided domestic violence housing and advocacy services to men, women and families in the region for nearly 35 years.

So far this year, Safe Place sheltered 164 adults and 191 children and offered non-shelter services to 439 adults and 67 children, according to data provided by the nonprofit.

On Friday, Safe Place teamed up with the Ector County Attorney’s office to offer investigation and intervention training to law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, judges, social workers and victim advocates.

Guest speaker Mark Wynn, a former lieutenant with the Nashville, Tenn., police department, said communities need to hold offenders accountable and prevent victims from falling through the cracks.

“Every community has gaps in the system,” Wynn said. “If there’s a gap, then a victim reaches a spot where they can’t bridge, and the only option is to go back.”

In attendance was Greg Conner, first assistant county attorney for Ector County, who said prosecuting domestic violence cases starts with facing a culture of apathy.

“Nobody wants to know what’s going on in the home next door,” said Conner, who is part a coalition to prevent the crime. “The only way we’re going to change the prosecution, the only way we’re going to change the courts is to get the community and people to understand it’s their problem. It’s not just the victim’s problem. It’s a community problem.”

The Odessa Police Department makes nearly 3,000 domestic violence reports a year, said Conner, one of six attorneys in the Ector County office who handles three different domestic violence cases at any given time.

Midland Police Department typically sees half that number, according to city data. So far this year, there are 1,191 police records involving domestic violence. The data shows there were 1,595 and 1,632 records in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

A skit at the Wednesday workshop showed how quickly a domestic dispute between a couple -- an abuser and his victim wife -- can escalate in a public place and warrant police action.

Safe Place Program Director Tonya Eckert highlighted the warning signs -- the abuser’s controlling nature and victim-blaming -- and said people can always call the police if they witness a similar situation.

“Domestic violence is of the most dangerous things you might come across. Law enforcement knows that. We know that. You know that,” Eckert said. “But please contact someone who can help.”

Here are some highlights from both workshops:

-- Victims stay in violent situations because they're scared.

During one of the table talks at the Wednesday workshop, audience members -- who were dressed in purple, leopard print and flashy heels in honor of the event -- offered reasons why victims stay in or go back to abusive environments.

“The No. 1 reason is fear,” said Judy Drury, who has been with Safe Place for nearly 12 years.

“Instead of asking, ‘Why does he offend?’ We're asking, ‘Why does she stay?’” Drury said.

Those in attendance also offered ways of breaking the cycle: making community contacts, listening to victims, setting an example for families and showing victims respect.

“When you get out, lean your hand down to help that next woman to get out,” Drury said, speaking to victims.

-- Children walk the same path with victims.

As Shawn Hogan, children’s director of Safe Place for six months, took the stage, she became emotional while talking about her role in the lives of victims and their children.

Safe Place offers parenting programs, child care and overall support to mothers, and Hogan measures change by the growth she sees in the kids.

“They come at one of the lowest points in their lives, and the change we see is amazing,” she said.

But sometimes the journey isn’'t always easy, Hogan said.

Victims are often scared by the defiant and aggressive nature they see in kids who come from abusive homes, but it’s part of the process, she said.

“As you’re walking this path, your children are going to walk it, as well,” Hogan said.

Even if children don’t suffer physical harm from an abuser, the act of harming a mother can be child abuse, Drury said during the table talks.

“Just the act of abusing the wife or child’s mother is 100 percent psychological abuse to the child,” she said.

-- The law takes domestic violence seriously.

When victims walk into the Midland County District Attorney’s Office, they come from all walks of life, according to Deena Bascus, who helps men, women and families obtain protective orders when needed.

“The law is really on the side of the people when it comes to domestic violence, and the law takes it very seriously,” she said.

Bascus highlighted the different kinds of orders, including emergency ones that offer 31, 61 or 91 days of protection or temporary ex parte orders for a time period not exceeding 20 days.

In a final hearing, if a judge finds that domestic abuse has occurred, is likely to occur again and that the victims fears for his or her life, the judge can issue an order of several years duration, Bascus said.

“Protective orders may be issued in a wide range of situations. The victim and alleged offender may be married, divorced, live or formerly lived together in the same household, have or used to have a dating relationship, or have a child together,” according to a protective order pamphlet from the Midland County District Attorney’s Office.

Children and pets are also covered in the orders, she said.

“When a victim becomes numb to abuse, the abuser finds an alternate way of hurting her through children and pets,” she said.

To apply for a protective order, contact a private attorney, legal aid service program or district county attorney.

-- Men must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with women.

As Wynn passed on more than 15 years of training experience to a number of regional agencies during Friday’s workshop, he also shared a personal secret: The former police lieutenant grew up in an abusive home.

“My way to make sure the law keeps its promise like it never did to me is to do the work I’m doing here today,” he said.

With the death of three officers six years ago and two high-profile domestic violence cases that ended in murder, Wynn said Odessa paid a price most cities “couldn’t even begin to understand.”

To even start policing domestic violence cases, officers must deal with a culture of male privilege, he said.

“We are still dealing with a culture -- mostly of men -- who believe they have the absolutely God-given right, enforced by their parents, to control their family by whatever means they see fit,” Wynn said. “I challenge men to stand up and hold offenders accountable. We know that if women could stop it on their own, it would have ended years ago. Men have to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with women.”

Conner often faces this while prosecuting cases.

“When we stand before a jury, that’s the culture we’re fighting,” Conner said.

The attorney calls on the community -- not just agencies -- to help victims.

“Anytime someone gets arrested for domestic violence, that’s a taxpayer investment of between $600 and $1,000,” Conner said. “We’re victim- focused. But the community is a victim, too, whether it’s their pocket book or their family members.”

Wynn encouraged law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and social workers to be patient with the process and not give up on victims.

“If we can get everyone in this room to get into the shoes of the victim and show them what that looks like when you live in and decide to leave, then they are more likely to be patient and understand what needs to be fixed,” Wynn said. “If we give up on a victim, they often have no other place to go.”